


i'm begging of you, please...

by Haberdasher



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Inspired by Jolene (Dolly Parton), Jealous Martin Blackwood, Jealousy, M/M, Minor Georgie Barker/Melanie King, POV Martin Blackwood, Pining Martin Blackwood, Protective Martin Blackwood, Protectiveness, Spoilers for The Magnus Archives Season 3, Suspicions, The Magnus Archives Season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 07:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30068691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haberdasher/pseuds/Haberdasher
Summary: Mid-Season 3, Martin gets suspicious of Jon’s new flatmate and investigates.
Relationships: Georgie Barker & Martin Blackwood, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	i'm begging of you, please...

Martin had wondered about Jon’s life outside the Institute for some time now; Jon wasn’t one to talk much about his private life in general, and the handful of tidbits he dropped just made Martin that much more curious about what else there was to know. He didn’t push Jon about it often, having learned quickly enough that Jon would sooner snap than break his self-set boundaries, but he still wondered.

Now that Martin knew Jon had found somebody to live with when he was wanted for murder without breaking a sweat, somebody whom Jon seemed to want to avoid discussing at all costs, that curiosity was beginning to harden into a cold certainty, and he felt the burning desire to learn more about the woman (one of the few things Jon had revealed about his living mate was her gender) with whom Jon was now sharing his life.

One evening spent keeping track of where Jon went after work was enough for Martin to get Jon’s new address--it wasn’t far from Martin’s own, as it turned out, making the hardest part of the night not following in Jon’s footsteps but leaving work as late as Jon did these days and then scrambling to make up for lost time once he finally got home.

It was a few days later that Martin stopped by the flat where Jon now lived well before Jon left work for the day, Martin’s heart pounding in his chest as he pounded on the front door.

“Hello?”

Martin heard the woman Jon was living with before he saw her, and neither her voice nor her appearance fit the mental picture Martin had developed for her. She was almost as chubby as Martin himself was, with short black curls and umber skin underneath her oversized dark hoodie, and her voice was friendly without being overly sweet.

Martin didn’t hesitate. “Are you the woman Jon’s been living with this whole time?”

The woman put one hand on her hip. “I prefer to be called Georgie, thanks, but that works too. Who’s asking?”

“I’m, uh, Martin. Martin Blackwood. Nice to meet you.” Martin extended his hand, and Georgie shook it, but between her removing her hand quickly and the strange look in her eyes, Martin could tell Georgie’s heart wasn’t in it.

“Ah, _you’re_ Martin. What brings you here, then? If you’re looking for Jon, I was under the impression he was work today...”

“He is, yeah. It’s you I wanted to talk to, actually.”

“Oh?” Georgie looked Martin over for a long moment before opening her door wider and stepping back so that he could enter. “Well, c’mon in, I suppose. No need to stand out here making a scene, pretty sure my neighbors gossip about me plenty already...”

“R-right, sorry.”

Georgie’s flat was... small. Cozy. A little messy, with stray papers and books and cat hair covering almost every surface, but in a comfortable sort of way. Honestly, it reminded Martin a bit of his own more than anything.

“Go ahead and make yourself at home, there’s plenty of seats to go around.”

Martin nodded numbly and sat down on Georgie’s couch; Georgie took a seat in a chair opposite him before speaking up again.

“So what did you come to talk to me about, hmm?”

It was a lot easier to envision this conversation in the abstract than it was to engage in it here, now, while he was already sitting on Georgie’s surprisingly comfortable couch as she stared him down with an unwavering gaze. The words didn’t come as easily as Martin had hoped they would.

“I was wondering, uh... are you and Jon... together?”

Georgie’s laughter was sharp and sudden, enough that Martin jumped a little in his seat at the sound of it.

“God, no! Not since uni--and trust me, I have _no_ intention of changing that. He’s just a friend now, that’s all.”

“Oh!” All the threads that had seemed to tie up so neatly in this one theory were unraveling in front of Martin’s eyes. “I, I just thought...”

“Nope. Not even a little bit.”

Then Martin remembered someone else that had raised his suspicions before, the one that Jon had used to access the Institute when he was still wanted for murder. Georgie must have been their go-between, so she had to know why Jon trusted her more than the rest of his employees, right?

“Is he with Melanie, then? Is that why...?”

Georgie’s laughter startled Martin only slightly less the second time around, and it proved no less boisterous than before.

“Oh, definitely not. I’m pretty sure Melanie has zero interest in the man. Not like _that_ , anyway... actually, no, I was right the first time, I don’t think she cares about him in _any_ way right about now.”

“Oh, I see.” Martin could feel his face heating up, though as the two denials synced up, two pieces of a puzzle fitting together in his head, he couldn’t stop himself from making one more assumption, though the possibility of Georgie laughing in his face again was clear enough in his mind. “The two of you then? You and, and Melanie, is that it?”

Martin wasn’t faced with laughter this time, though, only a thoughtful humming before Georgie responded.

“...maybe. It’s not official yet, we haven’t really talked about where we stand yet, but... I’m hopeful.”

“Ah, I see! Good for you. I wish you both well.”

“Thanks.” Georgie shot Martin a quick, toothy smile. “But you didn’t come here to talk about me and Melanie, right? You came to talk about Jon. So.” Georgie drummed her fingers on the side of her chair. “Why are you so concerned about who he’s with?”

“I, uh...” Martin’s face heated up again, and he wondered faintly if his face was even redder than his hair was now. “I just... I care about him.”

Georgie raised an eyebrow, and Martin remembered, belatedly, how she had referenced Melanie not _caring_ about Jon earlier. “In what sense of the word?”

Oh, his face was _definitely bright_ red now. “E-every sense?”

“...I see.”

Georgie stood up, and Martin’s pace quickened. Was she about to throw him out, to tell him why he wasn’t good enough for Jon? Because he was well aware of his own flaws and failures already without a lecture on the matter from someone he barely knew...

“I’m glad to hear that. From what he’s said about you, I’m pretty sure Jon _cares_ about you too. So, good luck to the two of you as well.”

Martin didn’t know what to say to that, so he just sat in place silently, one arm gripping the couch’s armrest as if for dear life as his mouth went dry.

“Fancy a cuppa?”

Martin let out a soft, nervous laugh. “ _Absolutely_.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, consider following me on tumblr at [haberdashing](https://haberdashing.tumblr.com/)!


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